NPS BAA Announcement #09-002
BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) FOR THE ACQUISITION RESEARCH PROGRAM AT THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
INTRODUCTION: This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and the Department of Defense Grants and Agreements (DoDGARS) Subpart 22.315(a). A formal Request for Proposals (RFP), solicitation, and/or additional information regarding this announcement will not be issued. Neither the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) nor the Contracting Office (Fleet and Industrial Supply Center-San Diego (FISC-SD)) will issue paper copies of this announcement. Interested parties are responsible to check GRANTS.GOV (www.grants.gov) or http://www.nps.edu/Research/WorkingWithNPS.html for possible amendments to this BAA. The NPS reserves the right to select for award all some or none of the proposals in response to this announcement. The NPS reserves the right to fund all, some or none of the proposals received under this BAA. NPS provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NPS and FISC-SD to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.
I. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Requiring Agency: Naval Postgraduate School 2. Research Opportunity Title: Acquisition Research at the Naval Postgraduate School 3. Program Name: Acquisition Research 4. Research Opportunity Number: NPS BAA 09-002 5. Response Date: This announcement will remain open until 4:00 p.m. (PST), 30 June 2009. Proposals received after this time will not be considered for award.
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6. Research Opportunity Description: This BAA’s primary objective is to attract outstanding researchers and scholars to investigate topics of interest to the defense acquisition community. The program solicits innovative proposals for defense acquisition management and policy research to be conducted during Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 (1 October 2009 - 30 September 2010). In this BAA, the phrase “defense acquisition management and policy research” refers to investigations in all disciplines, fields, and domains that (1) are involved in the acquisition of products and/or services for national defense, or (2) could potentially be brought to bear to improve defense acquisition. It includes but is not limited to economics, finance, financial management, information systems, organization theory, operations management, human resources management, and marketing, as well as the “traditional” acquisition areas such as contracting, program/project management, logistics, and systems engineering management. These topics are listed for guidance only. Evidence of Progress: • • Awardees must demonstrate evidence of progress via quarterly progress reports in the case of grants. Awardees must agree to deliver completed technical reports (as a Word file or PDF attachment) to the Technical Point of Contact listed below not later than 30 days after completion of the period of performance. Technical report preparation instructions are provided at http://acquisitionresearch.net/ Awardees must agree to present their research findings at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Annual Acquisition Research Symposium (http://www.researchsymposium.com/) held in May of each year in Monterey, CA. FY 2010 awardees may elect to present their findings at either the May 2010 or May 2011 symposia (dates to be announced), depending on the anticipated progress of their research efforts. If awardees elect to present at the 2011 symposium, the grant period of performance should be adjusted beyond 12 months to extend through May 2011.
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7. Point(s) of Contact: Questions of a technical nature shall be submitted to: Keith F. Snider, PhD Associate Professor of Public Administration and Management Acquisition Area Chair Graduate School of Business & Public Policy Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943 Office: (831) 656-3621 Fax: 831-656-2253 E-mail: ksnider@nps.edu
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Questions of a business nature shall be directed to: Janet Norton Contract and Grant Officer FISC San Diego Seal Beach Detachment Code: 230 800 Seal Beach Blvd., B-239 Seal Beach, CA 90740-5000 E-mail: janet.norton@navy.mil or Dottie Smith Contract and Grant Support Research and Sponsored Program Office Naval Postgraduate School Code 91 Halligan Hall, Bldg. 234 Monterey, CA 93943-5138 E-mail: baa@nps.edu NOTE: All questions shall be submitted in writing by electronic mail (e-mail). 8. Instrument Type(s): Awards may take the form of grants or cooperative agreements, as appropriate. 9. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 12.300 10. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Titles: DoD Basic and Applied Scientific Research. 11. Other Information: This program is targeted in particular to U.S. universities or other research institutions outside the Department of Defense. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF TECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND OTHER TYPES OF SUPPORT SERVICES. II. AWARD INFORMATION: The Government anticipates making multiple awards up to $120,000 each for a basic research period of twelve months. The awards will take the form of grants or cooperative agreements. NPS plans to complete proposal evaluations and notify awardees in September 2009. The amount and period of performance of each selected proposal will vary depending upon the technical approach to be pursued by the selected offeror(s). III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: All responsible sources from academia and industry may submit proposals under this BAA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are NPS BAA 09-002 3 of 11
encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation. U. S. government schools of higher education are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit full proposals in response to this BAA. If any such organization is interested in the program described herein, the organization should contact the technical POC to discuss its area of interest. Technical POC: Keith F. Snider, PhD Associate Professor of Public Administration and Management Acquisition Area Chair Graduate School of Business & Public Policy Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943 Office: (831) 656-3621 Fax: 831-656-2253 E-mail: ksnider@nps.edu IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION: 1. Application and Submission Process: An individual wishing to apply for an award must submit a research proposal that covers a period not exceeding twelve months (except as noted in I.6. above). Individuals wishing to apply must also submit a supporting letter through the appropriate institutional official (i.e., the applicant's Department Chairperson, Dean, or other official who speaks for the institution regarding support for and commitment to acquisition research). Awards are made to institutions, not to individuals. The research proposal shall follow the format described under the "Proposal Preparation" section below. The supporting letter should state whether or not the applicant holds a tenure track position or a permanent position with the institution. If the institution does not designate any appointments as tenure track, the letter should state whether or not, and if so when, the applicant will be considered for a permanent appointment. The Proposals submitted under this BAA are expected to be unclassified. However, confidential/classified proposals are permitted. If a classified proposal is submitted, the resultant will be unclassified. Unclassified proposals should be addressed to the technical point-ofcontact. Information regarding submission of classified proposals will be provided to the offeror at the time a full proposal is invited. All Proposal submissions will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 15.207, applicable law, and DoD/DoN regulations. Offerors are expected to appropriately mark each page of their submission that contains proprietary information. The proposal shall include a severable, self-standing Statement of Work which contains only unclassified information and does not include any proprietary restrictions. 2. Content and Format of Research Proposals: A technical and cost proposal, to include cost/price breakdown, is required, along with biographical information or curriculum vita of each applicant. NPS BAA 09-002 4 of 11
The following general information applies: • • • • • Paper Size – 8.5 x 11 inch paper Margins – 1 inch Spacing – single or double-spaced Font – Times New Roman, 12 point Number of Pages: • The technical proposal, including all information, appendices, and attachments, shall not exceed ten (10) pages (double-spaced). Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the government. • Cost proposals have no limitations; however, offerors are requested to keep this section under five (5) pages (single-spaced). • Biographical/vita sections shall not exceed three (3) pages (single-spaced) for each member of the research team.
Volume 1: Technical Proposal: The technical proposal must include the following: • Cover Page: This should include the words “Technical Proposal” and the following: • BAA Number • Title of Proposal • Identify of Prime Offeror • Technical Contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address) • Administrative/business contact (name, address, phone/fax, electronic mail address. • Duration of effort Executive Summary: Concise (approximately 200 words) abstract of the proposed research effort. The abstract must specifically describe how the principal purpose of the research effort supports or stimulates a public purpose and, if applicable, the substantial involvement by the government. A grant can only be awarded if the principal purpose is to support or stimulate a public purpose. A cooperative agreement can only be awarded if the principal purpose is to support or stimulate a public purpose and there is also substantial involvement by the government. • Statement of Work: The statement of work should include a description of the proposed work in sufficient detail for evaluation, including the scientific background, objective, and technical approach for each proposed task. The statement of work should also include: Appropriate references to the scientific literature should be cited. Identification of the symposium at which the research results will be presented: either May 2010 or May 2011 Acquisition Research Symposium (see para. I.6. above). Indication of how the proposed research may be coordinated with other research efforts and; Indication of how the proposed research may serve as a catalyst for a longerterm program of acquisition-related research.
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Biographical information or curriculum vita of each applicant should address the following: • • • • List of publications, professional activities, patents, honors, awards and other accomplishments. Information describing any specific acquisition-related research and/or experience of investigator(s). Description of involvement in other research projects currently undertaken by the applicant, whether or not acting as a principal investigator. Description of other pending research proposals (title, amount, where pending), including other agencies receiving this proposal.
The Government may challenge assertions that are provided in improper format or that do not properly acknowledge earlier federal funding of related research by the Offeror. • Evidence of progress for grants or cooperative agreements. A detailed description of the results and evidence of progress expected through the grant inclusive of the timeframe in which it will be delivered.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS The offeror must use the Grants.Gov forms from the application package template associated with the BAA on the Grants.Gov web site located at http://www.grants.gov/. Elements of the budget should include: • • • Direct Labor – Individual labor categories or persons, with associated labor hours and unburdened direct labor rates or percentage of effort or total man-years. Provide escalation rates for out years. Justify in Field K Indirect Costs – Fringe Benefits, Overhead, F&A, G&A etc. and their applicable allocation bases. If composite rates are used, provide the calculations used in deriving the composite rates. Justify in Field K. Travel – Provide a breakout of travel costs including the purpose and number of trips, origin and destinations(s), duration, travelers per trip, and the airfare, hotel, per diem, car rental costs, etc. for each trip. Or a basis for estimate, i.e., based on previous efforts, based on past experience, etc. Justify in Field K. Subawards - Cost proposal as detailed as the recipient’s cost proposal will be required to be submitted by the subrecipient. The subawardee’s or subrecipient’s cost proposal can be provided in a sealed envelope with the recipient’s cost proposal or may be sent directly to the Government. Subawardee proposals must be received and reviewed prior to award. Consultants – Provide a breakdown of the consultant’s hours, the hourly rate proposed, any other proposed consultant costs and a copy of the consultant’s proposed statement of work if it is not already separately identified in the prime recipient’s proposal. Strong justification must be provided, and consultants are to be used only under exceptional circumstances where no equivalent expertise can be found at a participating university. Justify in Field K. Materials & Supplies – Provide an itemized list of all proposed materials and supplies including quantities, unit prices, proposed vendors (if known), and the basis for the estimate (e.g., quotes, prior purchases, catalog price lists). Justify in Field K. NPS BAA 09-002 6 of 11
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Recipient Acquired Equipment or Facilities – Equipment and/or facilities are normally furnished by the Recipient. If acquisition of equipment and/or facilities is proposed, a justification for the purchase of the items must be provided. Provide an itemized list of all equipment and/or facilities costs and the basis for the estimate (e.g., quotes, prior purchases, catalog price lists). For computer/laptop purchases include a statement indicating the computer/laptop will be integrated into the program or used as an integral part of the research effort. Justify in Field K. Other Direct Costs – Provide an itemized list of all other proposed other direct costs such as Graduate Assistant tuition, laboratory fees, report and publication costs, and the basis for the estimates (e.g., quotes, prior purchases, catalog price lists). Justify in Field K. Fee/Profit - Fee/profit is unallowable.
3. Significant Dates and Times: This announcement will remain open until 4:00 p.m. (PST), 30 June 2009. Proposals received after this time will not be considered for award. 4. Submission of Late Proposals: N/A 5. Submission of Proposals: Grant and cooperative agreement proposals shall be submitted through Grants.gov or by hard copy. Regardless of whether Grants.gov is used or “hardcopy” submission, the offeror must use the Grants.gov forms from the application package template associated with the BAA on the Grants.gov website. Registration Requirements for Grants.gov: There are several one-time actions you must complete in order to submit an application through Grants.gov (e.g., obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR), register with the credential provider, and register with Grants.gov). See www.grants.gov/GetStarted to begin this process. The Grants.gov Organization Registration Checklist at www.grants.gov/assets/OrganizationRegCheck.doc will guide you through the process. Designating an E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) and obtaining a special password called ‘MPIN’are important steps in the CCR registration process. Applicants, who are not registered with CCR and Grants.gov, should allow at least 21 days to complete these requirements. It is suggested that the process be started as soon as possible. Questions: Questions relating to the registration process, system requirements, how an application form works, or the submittal process must be directed to Grants.gov at 1-800-518-4726 or e-mail: support@grants.gov Grants.gov Full Proposal Submission: Contents and Format of Applications Application forms and instructions are available at Grants.gov. To access these materials, go to http://www.grants.gov, select "Apply for Grants", and then select "Download Application Package." Enter the CFDA # 12.300 and the funding opportunity number (NPS BAA 09-002), designated as “Research Opportunity Number” on page two of this announcement. Content and Form of Application – SF 424 (R&R): You must complete the mandatory forms and any applicable optional forms (e.g., SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) in accordance with the instructions on the forms and the additional instructions below. Files that are attached to the forms must be in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) unless otherwise specified in this announcement. Complete this form first to populate data in other forms. Complete all the required fields in accordance with the pop-up instructions on the form. To activate the NPS BAA 09-002 7 of 11
instructions, turn on the “Help Mode” (icon with the pointer and question mark at the top of the form). 6. Address for the Submission of Hard Copy Full Proposals.
Hard copies of full proposals (Grants or Cooperative Agreements) should be sent to the address listed below: Naval Postgraduate School Research and Sponsored Programs Office ATTN: Code 91 (Contracts and Grants Support) Reference: NPS BAA-09-002 Halligan Hall, Building 222, 689 Dyer Road Monterey, CA 93943-5138 NOTE: FULL PROPOSALS SENT BY FAX OR E-MAIL WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED UNLESS APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY TECHNICAL POC, ksnider@nps.edu V. EVALUATION INFORMATION: 1. Evaluation Criteria: Award decisions will be based on competitive selection of proposals through a peer and/or technical and scientific review and business decision process with technical and scientific considerations being most important. Criteria 1 and 2 are of equal importance and more important than criterion 3. The sub criteria listed under each particular criterion are of equal importance. 1. Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal a. Knowledge and familiarity with DoD acquisition b. Compatibility of research questions with acquisition topics of interest c. Thoroughness, clarity and parsimony of the proposal d. Feasibility of research design/technical concept e. Potential impact of research results f. Publication potential of research results 2. Offeror’s capabilities, related experience, and past performance, including the qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed principal investigator and assistant personnel. a. The quality of technical personnel proposed; b. The Offeror’s experience in relevant efforts with similar resources c. The ability to manage the proposed effort. 3. The realism and reasonableness of the proposed cost. 2. Evaluation Panel: Technical and cost proposals submitted under this BAA will be protected from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR 3.104-5 and 15.207. The cognizant NPS Principal Investigator and other technical experts drawn from Government, industry or academe will perform the evaluation of technical proposals. Cost proposals will be evaluated by Government business professionals. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, one or more support NPS BAA 09-002 8 of 11
contractors may be utilized as subject-matter-expert technical consultants. Similarly, support contractors may be utilized to evaluate cost proposals. However, proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. Each support contractor’s employee having access to technical and cost proposals submitted in response to this BAA will be required to sign a non-disclosure statement prior to receipt of any proposal submissions. VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION: 1. Administrative Requirements – • The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code – The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this announcement is 541720 with a small business size standard of $7.0M. Central Contractor Registry (CCR) - Successful Offerors not already registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) will be required to register in CCR prior to award of any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other transaction agreement. Information on CCR registration is available at http://www.ccr.gov Subcontracting Plans - Successful contract proposals that exceed $550,000, submitted by all “but small business concerns”, will be required to submit prior to award a Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9, prior to award. Certifications – Proposals for contracts and assistance agreements should be accompanied by a completed certification package. Grants and Cooperative Agreements: For Grant and Cooperative Agreement awards greater than $100,000 require a certification of compliance with a national policy mandate concerning lobbying. Grant applicants shall provide this certification by electronic submission of SF424 (R&R) as a part of the electronic proposal submitted via Grants.gov (complete Blocks 18 and 19); the following certification applies to each applicant seeking federal assistance funds exceeding $100,000: CERTIFICATION REGARDING LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid by or on behalf of the applicant, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of an agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement. (2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the applicant shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, “Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,” in accordance with its instructions. NPS BAA 09-002 9 of 11
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(3) The applicant shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making or entering into this transaction imposed by Section 1352, title 31, U.S.C. Any person who fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure. 2. Reporting The following are samples of data deliverables that are typically required under a research effort: - Technical and Financial Progress Reports - Presentation Materials - Final Report Additional data deliverables may be proposed and finalized during negotiations. VII. OTHER INFORMATION 1. Government Property/Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Facilities Each proposer must provide a very specific description of any equipment/hardware that it needs to acquire to perform the work. This description should indicate whether or not each particular piece of equipment/hardware will be included as part of a deliverable item under the resulting award. Also, this description should identify the component, nomenclature, and configuration of the equipment/hardware that it proposes to purchase for this effort. The purchase on a direct reimbursement basis of special test equipment or other equipment that is not included in a deliverable item will be evaluated for allowability on a case-by-case basis. Maximum use of Government integration, test, and experiment facilities is encouraged in each of the Offeror’s proposals. Government research facilities and operational military units are available and should be considered as potential government furnished equipment/facilities. These facilities and resources are of high value and some are in constant demand by multiple programs. It is unlikely that all facilities would be used for the Center for Edge Power. The use of these facilities and resources will be negotiated as the program unfolds. Offerors should explain as parts of their proposals which of these facilities are critical for the project’s success. 2. Security Classification In order to facilitate intra-program collaboration and technology transfer, the Government will attempt to enable technology developers to work at the unclassified level to the maximum extent possible. If access to classified material will be required at any point during performance, the Offeror must clearly identify such need prominently in its proposal. 3. Use of Animals and Human Subjects in Research If animals are to be utilized in the research effort proposed, the Offeror must complete a DoD Animal Use Protocol with supporting documentation (copies of AALAC accreditation and/or NIH assurance, IACUC approval, research literature database searches, and the two most recent NPS BAA 09-002 10 of 11
USDA inspection reports) prior to award. For assistance with submission of animal research related documentation, contact the ONR Animal/Human Use Administrator at (703) 696-4046. Similarly, for any proposal for research involving human subjects, the Offeror must submit prior to award: documentation of approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB); IRB-approved informed consent form; IRB-approved research protocol; an executive summary of planned research (one-half to one page in length); proof of completed human research training (e.g., training certificate, institutional verification of training, etc.); an application for a DoD Navy Addendum to the Offeror’s DHHS-issued Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) or the Offeror’s DoD Navy Addendum number. The forms for assurance applications can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/assurances/assurances_index.html/ If the research is determined by the IRB to be greater than minimal risk; the Offeror also must provide the name and contact information for the independent medical monitor. Note: research involving human subjects that is greater than minimal risk, administrative procedures to protect human subjects from medical expenses (not otherwise provided or reimbursed) that are the direct result of participation in a research project must be addressed. 4. Recombinant DNA Proposal which call for experiments using recombinant DNA must include documentation of compliance with Department of Human and Health Services (DHHS) recombinant DNA regulations, approval of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and copies of the DHHS Approval of the IBC letter. 5. Protection of Proprietary and Sensitive Information The parties acknowledge that, during performance of the contract, grant, or other assistance agreement resulting from this BAA, the recipient may require access to certain proprietary and confidential information (whether in its original or derived form) submitted to or produced by the Government. Such information includes, but is not limited to, business practices, proposals, designs, mission or operation concepts, sketches, management policies, cost and operating expense, technical data and trade secrets, proposed Navy budgetary information, and acquisition planning or acquisition actions, obtained either directly or indirectly as a result of the effort performed on behalf of NPS. The recipient shall take appropriate steps not only to safeguard such information, but also to prevent disclosure of such information to any party other than the Government. The recipient agrees to indoctrinate company personnel who will have access to or custody of the information concerning the nature of the confidential terms under which the Government received such information and shall stress that the information shall not be disclosed to any other party or to recipient personnel who do not need to know the contents thereof for the performance of the agreement. Recipient personnel shall also be informed that they shall not engage in any other action, venture, or employment.
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